4 reasons why SF 49ers won’t move on from Jimmy Garoppolo

No. 1: Jimmy Garoppolo was dealt a bad hand in 2020

Jimmy Garoppolo will probably never be one of those Tier 1, elite-level quarterbacks capable of carrying his entire team regardless of the talent level around him. Those types of signal-callers are of the rarest variety.

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When supported by a good cast and within a good system, he’ll succeed well enough. Last year was proof of that.

But Garoppolo hasn’t had that cast this year. Not by a long shot.

For starters, San Francisco’s ground game, so essential to Kyle Shanahan’s offense and Jimmy G’s success, has been banged up and has regularly missed top running backs, Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. That’s one strike against Garoppolo’s efforts. The SF 49ers’ wide receiver corps has been a regular shuffle, too, with pass-catchers like Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Kendrick Bourne and others in and out of the starting lineup for various reasons, mostly injuries.

Worst of all, the Niners offensive line has been a shadow of its 2019 self, which despite some notable injuries last year, still finished as Football Outsiders‘ 15th-best pass-blocking unit.

This year, amid more injuries and roster shakeups, that number has dropped down to 20th. And it’s likely to get worse with continuing problems and shortages up front.

Shanahan has to take that into account, too. Garoppolo wasn’t exactly put into the kind of situation he otherwise would have needed to find regular success in 2020.

Combined with the “what then?” aspect of moving on from Jimmy G, there are still reasons why the SF 49ers elect to retain him instead.